Wednesday, April 14, 2010

iPad: Opening New Markets?

Will the iPad open new markets that the Nook, Kindle, and other eReaders have not been able to do? BusinessWeek thinks the iPad will change Japan’s book pricing.

Japanese publishers do not allow price discounting. They set the price and it sticks. E-books are popular in Japan, “estimated by Nomura Holdings Inc. to be four times those of the U.S.” If they can read English, someone in Japan could have a Kindle and buy books in English, but not Japanese.
Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp., Japan’s two biggest consumer electronics makers, have scrapped their e-reader business in the country and Amazon.com Inc. has yet to offer its Kindle in Japanese.
According to the article, Japan is nervous about the iPad. It offers more than just the ability to read e-books. It has color and tons of apps that do more than offer books.

Like in the U.S., sales are slipping in books and magazines. Now iPad comes along with the capability of combining text, video and audio, and it’s intuitive with a touchpad. The Japanese are used to reading on their cell phones - they started the books by texting phenomenon. For the most part, they’re not looking for eReaders that just allow you to read. The iPad is the first to offer more.

Some publishers in Japan are concerned about how the iPad might affect pricing negotiations. This seems to be the first e-Reader which might get a stronghold in Japan, open the market, and have a definite impact on the publishing industry there.
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25 comments:

  1. There are no abslutes anymore. A killer app comes along and completely changes everything. I'm looking forward, even embracing, this electronic revolution. But I'll still like to read paper books too.

    Stephen Tremp

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  2. This scares the poop out of me:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gew68Qj5kxw

    Interactive Alice in Wonderland for the iPad.

    I haven't even mastered writing yet. How do you compete with that?

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  3. Not bad for those who can afford it I guess.

    Give me a paperback, however, any day.

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  4. As a reader, I probably won't buy iPad because I think small laptop can do the job fine. But as an author, I think it's good to have competition among the ebook platforms. I hope it brings more sales to authors.

    Really Angelic

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  6. Interesting that it might actually change the market in Japan! Thanks for sharing this...

    Elizabeth
    Mystery Writing is Murder

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  7. It's interesting to see all this play out. Personally, I don't want an ebook reader that plays music, or shows videos or lets you browse the web. I just want to read. It will be interesting to see how authors are affected by all these interactive possibilities.

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  8. America upsets something in Japan (without a bomb) that's great especially in electronics.

    I know I'm gonna cave and end up with a reader but I really hope I don't ever have to get used to empty book shelves and the feel of holding a friend.

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  9. I bet U.S. publishers would love to have that tight control here. It’ll be interesting to see if the iPad changes that control in Japan.

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  10. Technology continues to overwhelm me.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

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  11. Maribeth, even if I get an eReader, I'll still have my print books. Won't get rid of those!

    Mason, I am with you! Technology and the changes are overwhelming.

    This sounds like it will be good for writers. A new market that clearly likes to read. But it is sooo intimidating to think of all that has changed recently and having to keep up with it.

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  12. Technology is racing ahead, and I, a poor runner, am failing to keep up. I think I'll go read a book.

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  13. I don't like e-readers, prefer good old paperbacks, or sound books (the ones they make for the blind) on my iPod. I need a new one by the way, the iPod i bought at the Galleria in Houston 5 years ago doesn't work anymore. Not interested in iPad.

    Cold As Heaven

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  14. I want to see the iPad and hold it, but doubt it's for me. I already have a laptop I lug when I go on vacations. Even got a roller bag because it's so dang heavy. I see myself getting an eReader, but one that will fit in a purse.

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  15. From what I understand, books will not be that cheap on the iPad.

    I'd love to have one. It's a really pretty toy, but right now I can't justify purchasing one on my budget.

    Morgan Mandel
    http://morganmandel.com
    http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel

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  16. I think it will change their minds. After six days using my iPad, I think it will really shake up the industry.

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  17. I would like to have a reader of some type but before I invest so much money I wish I could try them all out for the time it takes me to read one book on them. Maybe then I could decide. However if someone gives me one for free that will be the type I like best.

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  18. I agree Susan. I'd like to test drive them all before buying. If not that, then I at least want to hold one and see how user friendly it is. Right now, though, I'm thinking of downloading an app for my iPhone and trying that out.

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  19. I hope the iPad does open up the market for e-books to be priced reasonably. Publishers are charging way too much for an electronic version of a book by well-known authors. There are a few authors, like Joe Konrath, who are putting their own backlist up on Kindle and charging $2.99 or $3.99, compared to the $9.99 for a book from a major publisher. Apparently, he is doing quite well. I just put my book, One Small Victory, up through Smashwords, so it is available to Kindle and all the other electronic reading devices. It is my own experiment to see if it will sell well at $2.99.

    There is so little cost in producing the book electronically that it doesn't warrant the high prices. JMHO

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  20. I think the iPad will be a boon for writers. It'll market your work to the next generation and that's always smart. From a business standpoint--who cares how the public is reading your work as long as they're reading it. ;D

    As a reader--I'll take books any day. Dust mites make the best conversationalists. Ever strike up a chat with a machine? Pfft. They've no tonal variations and a dry sense of humor. Hehehe.

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  21. If, as a writer, I remain a "traditionalist" and stubbornly cling to the paperback, then I'm letting myself down.

    The times are changing and I think it's exciting. It won't stop me from writing, but it might change the way my words are read.

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  22. Personally, I'm stoked about the iPad. I think Apple's ibook reader, which is a free app for the iPad, is a better reader with more features than Kindle. But, I also have the Kindle app on my iPad, so, if I can't find the book I want in the Apple store, I can look in the Kindle store.

    I don't buy the argument that ebooks should be cheaper than print because they are cheaper to produce. Producing an ebook requires staff, just like a paper book. There are editors, copy editors, marketing staff and office staff. There might be more software engineers on the ebook staff and those folks tend to be expensive staff.

    Just because a book exists somewhere in electronic form, doesn't mean it can be easily adapted to an ereader. I downloaded a book this week that didn't have any paragraph breaks. It looked to me as if it had been produced in one ebook format and transported to another reader without checking for compatibility.

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  23. Sounds like someone made a bad move on that book, Mark. If I downloaded it and found that, I'd think twice about downloading another by that author.

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  24. It was a Lee Child book, so I'm not giving up on him.

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  25. I can't wait to get my hands on an Ipad. I'm hoping it will open up the field for many new writers to get their books out there. Though, I can't help but hope actual books will always be in demand. I love turning the pages, smelling the binding, and yes, seeing my work in print. There's nothing like it.

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